Shirt



March 14, 1944.

J; N. DouMAux SHIRT Filed June 18, 1943 ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 14,- 1944 SHIRT Jerome N. Doumanx, Great Neck, N. Y., aseignor to The B. V. D. Corporation, New York, N. 1.. a

corporation of Delaware Application June 18, 1943, Serial No. 491,319

Claims. (Cl. 2-116) This invention relates to shirts which have attached collars and is concerned more particularly with a. novel collar for 'use in such shirts, which is so constructed that the shirt has an attractive appearance when worn with the collar either open or closed. The use of the new c01- lar, accordingly, makes possible the manufacture of attractive garments of wide utility which may be appropriately called all-purpose shirts.

The attached collars on dress shirts, which are worn ordinarily with the collar closed at the front and with a necktie, have heretofore usually been formed of a neckband and an outer ply of material attached to the upper edge of the neckband and depending therefrom. This construction looks well when the collar is closed, but, when the collar is worn open, its appearance is not attractive because the ends of the neckband and the stitching by which the outer ply is secured thereto then become visible. Also, because of the neckband and scam, the collar will not naturally lie flat against the body of the wearer, when the front button closing the collar is undone. Such collars with neckbands are rel atively expensive to manufacture, because of the numerous parts to be cut and stitched together, the necessity of pinning together the parts to match stripes, when striped goods are used, etc.

Collars of shirts intended to be worn with the collar open have heretofore been frequently made without neckbands and with the entire collar consisting of single piece inner and Outer facings and an interlining. This construction is considerably less expensive to manufacture than the neckband type of collar and it looks better when worn open, since the points will lie flat and no unsightly seams are visible. However, such collars as made up to the present have included no support at the rear, and when a shirt with such a collar is worn with a coat, the collar is likely to roll back upon itself at the rear until the back of the collar lies within the coat collar and is wholly concealed. Shirts with such collars as now made do not look well when worn closed and with a necktie because the collar has no well defined longitudinal fold line and, in ad- I dition, the inner and outer plies lies so close to one another that it is difficult to adjust the necktie within the fold while the necktie knot is being tied.

The present invention is, accordingly, directed to the provision of a novel collar which is of attractive appearance, regardless of whether it is worn in open or closed position, so that a shirt provided with such a collar looks well either when used for dress purposes with the collar closed and with a necktie or when employed for work or sports and worn with the collar open and the points spread apart. The new collar is simple and inexpensive to manufactm'e and it requires no special laundering operations.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be made to the accompanying drawing in which Fig. l is a view in perspective of a portion of a shirt with the new collar shown in partially opened position;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the collar with the outer facing uppermost;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the collar with the inner facing uppermost and with portions of the facing broken away to show the interior construction;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 4, but showing the collar folded; and I Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the new colla showing the permissible variations in the length i of the points and of the angle between them.

The shirt illustrated in Fig. 1 includes the usua1 body made up of front panels I 0, H overlapping lengthwise of the front and connected at their upper ends to a yoke l2, although the garment may be made without a yoke, if desired. The shirt has the usual sleeves l3 and the front panels and yoke are cut to form a neck opening I 4. Attached to the body of the garment along the edge of the neck opening is the new collar I5, which may be held closed by a button l8 and buttonhole I! at the upper ends of the front panels, but is shown in partially open condition.

The collar includes an outer facing I8- and an inner facing l9, these facings being of the same shape and of the material of which the shirt is made. Between the facings is an interlining 20, of the usual collar lining material and of the same shape and size as the facings. The facings and 'interlining are secured together along their outer and end edges by stitching 2| and are secured to the shirt body along the edge of the neck opening by stitching 22. The end edges 23 of the facings and interlining are cut at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the collar to form points 24 and the outer edges of the facings and interlining are cut with a slight central convexity, as indicated at 25, so that the edge of the collar will fit properly at the back of the wearer.

Between the facings and within the collaris a stiffening element 28 which is made of suitable material, such as collar lining fabric. Element 20 has its inner edge 2la secured to the facings. interlining, and the 'edge of the neck opening by stitching 22. The outer edge 28b of the element is convexly curved and lies spaced inwardly from the free edge of the collar and the main part of the element is secured in place in any suitable way as, for example, by being attached along its curved edge to the inner facing ll, preferably, by a row of stitching 21. The element is shorter than the inner edge of the collar, and the ends 28c of the element are, accordingly, spaced from the end edges 23 of the collar.

Within the collar between the facings is a fold shaping member 28 of suitable fabric, such as collar lining material. The member 28 has an inner edge 28a coinciding with the inner edges of the facings, interlinin and stiffening member and held in place by stitching 22. The outer edge 28b of the member is convexly curved and lies outwardly beyond the corresponding edge 26b of element 26. Edge 28b of the member intersects the; end edges 23 of the collar so that the member has short end edges coinciding with the edges 23 for a portion of their length at their inner ends. The main part of member 28 may be secured in place in any suitable way, as, for example, by being attached along its curved edge to the inner facing l9 by stitching, such, as a continuous row of stitching along edge 28b.

With the construction described, element 26 and member 28 provide a double thickness of material within the boundaries of the element which serves to stiffen the inner ply of the collar at the back and keep the stiffened area erect. When the collar is folded, the location of the line of fold varies somewhat, depending on whether the collar is open or closed, but both fold lines lie within the area of member 28 beyond the curved edge of element 26. The fold lines are indicated at A and B and are the lines along which the collar folds when worn open and when worn closed, respectively. Since both lines lie within th member 28, that member serves to shape the fold and it causes'the fold to be formed on a larger radius than would otherwise be the case. Such shaping of the told by the member 28 tends to keep the plies from binding on a necktie when the latter is drawn between the plies and the member also gives the collar a smooth flowing curve along the fold line. This improves the appearance of the collar, whether worn open or closed.

I have (found that, in making a collar to be worn either open or closed, there are certain limitations on the length of the points and the angle between them, when the collar is closed, that must be observed, if the collar is to look well in both positions. Thus, if the edges 23 of the points are too long and the angle between them, when the collar is closed, is too great, the points will extend out parallel to the shoulders so far, when the collar is worn open, that the appearance of the shirt will be unsatisfactory. In general, it may be said that, to obtain the desired effect, the length of the points, indicated at a, b, and c in Fig.6, may vary from 2 /2" to and the angle between them should vary inversely with that length and between 20 and 120, as shown on Fig. 6. Thus, if the desired angle is 120, the points should be 2 long or not much longer, since otherwise, when the collar is worn fully open with the points spread apart the maximum distance, the points will be too far 75 apart and too near the outer endsof the shoulders. If longer points are desired, the angle between the points should be correspondingly reduced, for the same reasons.

5 Th new collar stands erect at the back, whether worn open or closed, by reason of the double thickness of the coinciding portions of element 28 and member 22, but, since the element terminates well short of the edges of the points, the stiffening action does not interfere with the collar being worn fully open. when the collar is so worn, no stitching securing the element and member in place is visible, since these parts are secured to the facing l8 and the stitches 5 are, therefore, concealed. The fold shaping effectof the single layer of material in that portion of the member lying beyond the curved edge of the element does not prevent the collar from being worn fully open but merely gives the fold a more desirable curvature. B the use of the element and member as described and also by observing the limitations mentioned on the length of the points and the angle between them, the new collar is given an attractive appearance, re-

5 gardless of how it is worn.

I claim:

1. In an all-purpose shirt, an attached collar comprising similar inner and outer facings at tached along the inner edges thereof to the body 30 of the shirt along the edge of the neck opening,

the free and end edges of the facings being secured together and the end edges being inclined to the longitudinal axis of the collar to form points, an interlining of the same shape as the facings lying between and secured to the latter along the edges thereof, a stiffening element between the facings and extending outward from the inner edges thereof, said element terminating short of the end edges of the facings and having a convexly curved outer edge lying slightly inward from the lines along which the collar is folded when in use, and a fold shaping member between the facings and extending outward from the inner edges thereof, said member having ends substantially coinciding with the inclined end edges of the facings, with the outer edge of said ends terminating a substantial distance inwardly from the points, and also having a convexly curved outer edge lying outward beyond the curved edge of said element, the portion of the member outside the element covering the area in which lie the fold lines of the collar when the latter is worn either open or closed.

2. In an all-purpose shirt, an attached collar comprising similar inner and outer facings attached along the inner edges thereof to the body of the shirt along the edge of the neck opening, the free and end edges of the facings being secured together and the end edges being inclined to the longitudinal axis of the collar to form points, an interlining of the same shape as the facings lying between and secured to the latter along the edges thereof, a stiffening element between the facings secured to both facings along the inner edges thereof and extending outwardly therefrom, said element terminating short of the end edges of the facings and having a convexly curved outer edge lying slightly inward from the lines along which the collar is folded when in use, and a fold shaping member between the facings and secured to both facings along the ixmer edges thereof, said member having ends coinciding with the inclined end edges of the facings with the outer edge of said ends terminating a substantial distance inwardly from the points,

from, said element terminating short of the end and secured thereto, said member also having a convexly curved outer edge lying outwardly beyond the curved edge of said element, the portion of the member outside the element covering the area in which lie the fold lines of the collar when the latter is worn either open or closed.

3. In an all-purpose shirt, an attached collar comprising similar inner and outer facings and an interlining attached along the inner edges thereof to the body of the shirt along the edge of the neck opening, the free and end edges of the facings and interlining being secured together and said end edges being inclined to the longitudial axis of the collar to form points, the length of said end edges ranging from 2% to 5" and said edges defining an angle of 20 to 120 between them when the collar is in closed position, the angle varying inversely with the length of said edges, and separate means between the faclngs and secured thereto for both holding the inner portion of the collar erect at the rear and shaping the longitudinal fold of the collar.

4. In an all-purpose shirt, an attached collar comprising similar inner and outer facings and an interlining attached along the inner edges thereof to the body of the shirt along the edge of the neck opening, the free and end edges'of the iacings and interlining being secured together and said end edges being inclined to the longitudial axis of the collar to form points, the length of said end edges ranging from 2 to 5" and said edges defining an angle of 20 to 120 between them when the collar is in closed position, the angle varying inversely with the length of said edges, a stiffening element between the facings secured to both facings along the inner edges thereof and extending outwardly thereedges of the facings and having a convexly curved outer edge lying slightly inward from the lines along which the collar is folded when worn open or closed, and a fold shaping member between the facings and secured thereto along the inner edges thereof, said member having a convexly curved outer edge lying outward beyond the curved edge of said element, the portion of the member outside the element covering the area containing said fold lines.

5. In an all-purpose shirt, an attached collar comprising similar inner and outer facings attached along the inner edges thereof to the body of the shirt along the edge of the neck opening,

the free and end edges of the facings being secured together and the end edges being inclined to the longitudinal axis of the collar to form points, an interlining of the same shape as the facings lying between and secured to the latter along the edges thereof, a stiffening element between the faoings and extending outward from the inner edges thereof, said element terminating short of the end edges of the facings and have a convexly curved outer edge lying slightly inward from the lines along which the collar is folded when in use, and a fold-shaping member between the facings and extending outward from the inner edges thereof, said member having a convexly curved outer edge terminating throughout its length between the curved edge of said element and the outer edges of the facings, the portion of said member outside the element covering the area in which lies the fold lines of the collar when the latter is worn either open or closed.

JEROME N. DOUMAUX. 

